Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 Now ^(A)Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and ^(B)exalted him greatly.

² And Solomon spoke to all Israel, ^(C)to the commanders of thousands, of hundreds, and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ households. ³ Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to ^(D)the high place which was at Gibeon, ^(E)because God’s tent of meeting was there which Moses, the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. ⁴ However, David had brought up ^(F)the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim ^[a]to ^(G)the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ Now ^(H)the bronze altar which Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was there before the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. ⁶ And Solomon went up there before the Lord to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and ^(I)offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

^7 (J)In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

⁸ And Solomon said to God, “You have dealt with my father David with great faithfulness, and ^(K)have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, Lord God, ^(L)Your ^[b]promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over ^(M)a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. ^10 (N)Now give me wisdom and knowledge, ^(O)so that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?” ^11 (P)Then God said to Solomon, “Because this was ^[c]in your heart, and you did not ask for riches, wealth, or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor did you even ask for long life, but you asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge so that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. ^(Q)I will also give you riches, wealth, and honor, ^[d]such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed, nor will those who will ^[e]come after you.” ^13 (R)So Solomon went ^[f]from the high place which was at Gibeon, from the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem, and he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Wealth

^14 (S)Solomon amassed chariots and horsemen. ^(T)He had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in ^(U)the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^15 (V)The king made ^(W)silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the ^[g]lowland. ¹⁶ Solomon’s ^(X)horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue; the king’s traders acquired them from Kue for a price. ¹⁷ They ^[h]imported chariots from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver apiece, horses for 150 apiece, and ^[i]by the same means they ^[j]exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

Solomon Will Build a Temple and a Palace

2 ^[k](Y)Now Solomon ^[l]decided to build a house for the name of the Lord, and a ^[m]royal palace for himself. ^2 [n]So ^(Z)Solomon ^[o]assigned seventy thousand men to carry loads, eighty thousand men to quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 to supervise them.

^3 (AA)Then Solomon sent word to ^[p]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “^(AB)As you dealt with my father David and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, do it for me. ⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, ^(AC)to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out ^(AD)the showbread continually, and to offer ^(AE)burnt offerings morning and evening, ^(AF)on Sabbaths, on new moons, and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God. This is to be done in Israel forever. ⁵ The house which I am about to build will be great, for our God is ^(AG)greater than all the gods. ⁶ But ^(AH)who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? And who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to ^[q]burn incense before Him? ⁷ Now ^(AI)send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass, iron, and in purple, crimson, and violet fabrics, one who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled workers ^[r](AJ)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided. ^8 (AK)Send me also cedar, juniper, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed ^(AL)my servants will work with your servants, ⁹ to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰ Now behold, ^(AM)I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, ^[s]twenty thousand kors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, ^[t]twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”

Huram to Assist

¹¹ Then Huram, king of Tyre, ^[u]answered in a letter sent to Solomon: “^(AN)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.” ¹² Then Huram ^[v]continued, “Blessed be ^(AO)the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, ^[w]endowed with discretion and understanding, ^(AP)who will build a house for the Lord and a ^[x]royal palace for himself.

¹³ “Now then, I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, ^[y]endowed with understanding, ^14 (AQ)the son of a ^[z]Danite woman and ^[aa]a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, violet, linen, and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to ^[ab]execute any design which is assigned to him, to work with your skilled workers and with ^[ac]those of my lord, your father David. ¹⁵ Now then, let my lord send his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of ^(AR)which he has spoken. ^16 (AS)We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, ^(AT)following the ^[ad]census which his father David had ^[ae]taken; and 153,600 were found. ^18 (AU)He appointed seventy thousand of them to carry loads and eighty thousand to quarry stones in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.

The Fourfold Hallelujah

19 After these things I heard something like a ^(A)loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“^(B)Hallelujah! ^(C)Salvation, ^(D)glory, and power belong to our God, ^2 (E)because His ^(F)judgments are ^(G)true and righteous; for He has judged the ^(H)great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has ^(I)avenged the blood of His bond-servants ^[a]on her.” ³ And a second time they said, “^(J)Hallelujah! ^(K)Her smoke rises forever and ever.” ⁴ And the ^(L)twenty-four elders and the ^(M)four living creatures ^(N)fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “^(O)Amen. ^(P)Hallelujah!” ⁵ And a voice came from the throne, saying,

“^(Q)Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, ^(R)you who fear Him, the small and the great.” ⁶ Then I heard something like ^(S)the voice of a great multitude and like ^(T)the sound of many waters, and like the ^(U)sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

“^(V)Hallelujah! For the ^(W)Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Marriage of the Lamb

⁷ Let’s rejoice and be glad and ^(X)give the glory to Him, because ^(Y)the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His ^[b](Z)bride has prepared herself.” ⁸ It was given to her to clothe herself in ^(AA)fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the ^(AB)righteous acts of the ^[c]saints.

⁹ Then ^(AC)he *said to me, “^(AD)Write: ‘^(AE)Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “^(AF)These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then ^(AG)I fell at his feet to worship him. ^(AH)But he *said to me, “^[d]Do not do that; I am a ^(AI)fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who ^(AJ)hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Coming of Christ

¹¹ And I saw ^(AK)heaven opened, and behold, a ^(AL)white horse, and He who sat on it is called ^(AM)Faithful and True, and in ^(AN)righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His ^(AO)eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many ^(AP)crowns; and He has a ^(AQ)name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a ^(AR)robe dipped in blood, and His name is called ^(AS)The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in ^(AT)fine linen, ^(AU)white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ^15 (AV)From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that ^(AW)with it He may strike down the nations, and He will ^[e](AX)rule them with a rod of iron; and ^(AY)He treads the ^[f]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has ^(AZ)a name written: “^(BA)KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷ Then I saw ^[g]an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to ^(BB)all the birds that fly in ^(BC)midheaven, “^(BD)Come, assemble for the great feast of God, ¹⁸ so that you may ^(BE)eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, ^(BF)both free and slaves, and ^(BG)small and great.”

¹⁹ And I saw ^(BH)the beast and ^(BI)the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who ^(BJ)sat on the horse, and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the ^(BK)false prophet who ^(BL)performed the signs ^[h](BM)in his presence, by which he ^(BN)deceived those who had received the ^(BO)mark of the beast and those who ^(BP)worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the ^(BQ)lake of ^(BR)fire, which burns with ^[i]brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which ^(BS)came from the mouth of Him who ^(BT)sat on the horse, and ^(BU)all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Satan Bound

20 Then I saw ^(BV)an angel coming down from heaven, holding the ^(BW)key of the abyss and a great chain ^[j]in his hand. ² And he took hold of the ^(BX)dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and ^(BY)bound him for a thousand years; ³ and he threw him into the ^(BZ)abyss and shut it and ^(CA)sealed it over him, so that he would ^(CB)not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

⁴ Then I saw ^(CC)thrones, and ^(CD)they sat on them, and ^(CE)judgment was given to them. And I saw ^(CF)the souls of those who had been beheaded because of ^[k]their ^(CG)testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not ^(CH)worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the ^(CI)mark on their foreheads and on their hands; and they ^(CJ)came to life and ^(CK)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. ^(CL)This is the first resurrection. ^6 (CM)Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the ^(CN)second death has no power, but they will be ^(CO)priests of God and of Christ, and will ^(CP)reign with Him for a thousand years.

Satan Freed and Doomed

⁷ When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be ^(CQ)released from his prison, ⁸ and will come out to ^(CR)deceive the nations which are at the ^(CS)four corners of the earth, ^(CT)Gog and Magog, to ^(CU)gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the ^(CV)sand of the ^[l]seashore. ⁹ And they ^(CW)came up on the ^[m]broad plain of the earth and surrounded the ^(CX)camp of the ^[n]saints and the ^(CY)beloved city, and ^(CZ)fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And ^(DA)the devil who ^(DB)deceived them was thrown into the ^(DC)lake of fire and ^[o]brimstone, where the ^(DD)beast and the ^(DE)false prophet are also; and they will be ^(DF)tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment at the Throne of God

¹¹ Then I saw a great white ^(DG)throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose ^[p]presence ^(DH)earth and heaven fled, and ^(DI)no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, the ^(DJ)great and the small, standing before the throne, and ^[q](DK)books were opened; and another ^[r]book was opened, which is ^(DL)the book of life; and the dead ^(DM)were judged from the things which were written in the ^[s]books, ^(DN)according to their deeds. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and ^(DO)Death and Hades ^(DP)gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them ^(DQ)according to their deeds. ¹⁴ Then ^(DR)Death and Hades were thrown into ^(DS)the lake of fire. This is the ^(DT)second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if ^[t]anyone’s name was not found written in ^(DU)the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.